Tracking trolls since 2001.

First off, I have had my hat handed to me via Twitter by one Andy Pitchford. Well, not entirely because hello? Like I would even let that happen.

The war of words disagreement was over the fact that he asked “Has anyone ever been sued out of business by a troll?” I threw out my poster child of Ditto because they were, in fact, dangerously close to shuttering before selling out to IP Nav and being able to fend off the lawsuits from 1-800-Contacts and Lennon Image Technologies. But dangerously close and actually being shut down are not, in fact, synonymous. Ugh. Some people are such sticklers for detail, no?

So I have vowed to find a company who’s been shut down by the threat of a troll lawsuit and if one doesn’t exist, I freely admit that I will then contend it doesn’t matter anyway. You don’t have to be shut down to be affected by patent trolling, as start ups so often are, for patent trolling to be a problem. That’s like saying robbery is only an issue if you’re robbed completely blind. They left your fridge and stove, even though they walked away with your TV, X-Box, three laptops, DVR, 60-inch flat panel, a four-wheeler from your garage, and the wheels off your car? Well then, what are you complaining about?

See? That argument doesn’t really work for me. But whatever. I said I’d find a company shut down by a troll and I aim to please and also like to not be a sore loser even though I totally am because growing up my father ingrained in me the phrase “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”

Anyway, allll that said and to tie this post to the title which is sometimes a challenge for me, I’ll be in New Orleans over a portion of the US Thanksgiving holiday this upcoming week. Tomorrow afternoon, in fact, I will be at the Hilton New Orleans/St. Charles Avenue in the lobby from 4-6pm waiting to pick a fight with someone discuss patent trolling with anyone who’s similarly inclined. Troll Talk, we’ll call it.

If you’re near the area and are looking to get out of the freezing rain that seems to be all over the Gulf Coast right now, join in the fun!

And of course, to all the other troll trackers out there just looking to make a difference, may I say that I hope we all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!